Five games into the season, the Indiana Pacers and Brooklyn Nets are still trying to gain their footing.
The Nets are 2-3 while the Pacers are 1-4. The two collide tomorrow, 7:30 AM on NBA TV Philippines, which is available on Smart’s GigaPlay app and Cignal TV.
The absence of Kyrie Irving has surely impacted the Nets but the team has accounted for the slow start of their other star, James Harden. The Beard has yet to look like his old self. Through five games, he's posting just 16.6 points while shooting only 35.9 percent from the field -- pretty low numbers for his lofty standards especially after averaging 24.6 points last year. His 3-point shots are also slightly down, hitting just 2.6 makes on a 33.3 shooting clip. The rebounding (7.0) and assists (8.0) are still up to par but he's not shooting well enough. Instead of being the godly scorer that he is, he looks mortal so far.
It's still early in the season and it's easy to forget that Harden is coming from a hamstring injury in the playoffs. He was also hurt for a significant amount of time during the regular season. He may need more time to get his legs under him.
Nonetheless, if the Nets are to survive the season till the Irving situation gets resolved, they need Harden to supplement the production of Kevin Durant, who doesn’t seem to be slowing down with averages of 29.8 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 5.0 assists.
As the Nets try to navigate the season with their high expectations, the Pacers are simply looking for a better start and contend in the East.
It's difficult to decide what to make of the Pacer's bumpy beginning under new head coach Rick Carlisle. The Pacers suffered two one-point losses against the Hornets and Wizards to open the season. Then, they earned a hard-fought overtime victory over the Heat, who are expected to be in the top tier of the conference. But after their first win, they endured big back-to-back losses against the Bucks and the Raptors. They are 0-3 on the road as they travel to Brooklyn.
The Nets alone are a handful, but the Pacers will also have to manage without their starting point guard. Malcolm Brogdon left Indiana's last game because of a sore hamstring. Per the Indianapolis Star, Brogdon will miss tomorrow's contest, but the Pacers may see the return of Caris LeVert who is listed as questionable. The multifaceted scorer has been out because of a stress fracture in his back but has returned to practice earlier this week.
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